Expert: Andrew Ransavage - 2/18/2008

Question
 Hey Andrew, My name is Addison, and I was wondering if you could answer the following questions. I am 17 years old and this much I know, I want to be able to create any 2D or 3D object or image that comes to mind. I also want to be able to have total control over image manipulation, whether it be an image taken with a camera or a digitally created image on the computer. I understand that I'll need to buy some software programs, but money isn't an issue. So my questions are 1. What Programs should I get, 2. I know the programs will take some time to learn, so should I buy the manuals that will aid in the education of the programs? 3. Where should I get started? whether it's classes or just learning on my own, I have no idea where to begin. I intend to go to college for this and I am willing to do absolutely anything to learn and progress in this enormous field. I want to create art.

P.S. forgive me if I sound a little serious, but I am truly excited in getting started.

Answer
Hi Addison, I'd be glad to give you some pointers to get you started. To answer the first portion of your question, in the world of 2D graphics programs, Adobe Photoshop is really the one obvious application that you should definitely begin familiarizing yourself with. No matter what field you end up in, if it's at all related to computer graphics, you will need to use Photoshop. Regarding 3D apps, there are a lot more options, but the 2 biggest and most commonly used in the industry are Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya. These have a much higher learning curve as do most 3D apps. The best way to learn them is to do the tutorials that they ship with or buy yourself a third party book/cd with tutorials. The 3ds Max Bible is a good example of one of these. Using tutorials are in my opinion the best way to become familiar with any complex application. Manuals are useful once you get to a certian level of comfort and want to investigate features more intensely. Beyond that, there's no doubt that a college education is extremely vaulable and there are many colleges and technical schools with great programs but that's a whole other discussion. Also, as you begin to focus on a particular graphics field you may also find other applications of interest as well. Adobe Flash for web based media, InDesign for desktop publishing or After Effects for video compositing. You can also get most of these programs in an "educational" version at a significant discount. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions...

Andrew